Archive for the ‘Minnesota Wild’ Category

The men assembled to be formally introduced as members of the Minnesota Wild, sitting behind a table on a riser along side Owner Craig Leipold, General Manager Chuck Fletcher and Head Coach Mike Yeo.

Each got their sweater for the first time, Suter # 20 and Parise # 11

There was something extra on the left upper chest of each, a large can’t miss Alternate Captains ‘A’

I’m not going to lie I got chills seeing this on each man, a near unprecedented action for any player joining a brand new team. It speaks to the genuine character and leadership qualities of each man.

Zach Parise didn’t even notice his ‘A’ until a member of the media pointed it out 🙂

The Captain ‘C’ will continue to reside and rightfully so with Wild center #9 Mikko Koivu, but with #9, #11 and #20 wearing the letters the leadership of the Minnesota Wild is in great hands for years to come.

Wild.com details todays events, and also has lots of related multimedia available enjoy!

On July 4th 2012, the Minnesota Wild sent shockwaves throughout the NHL signing the two top free agents of the years class. New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise & Nashville Predators Defenseman Ryan Suter to matching 13 year 98 million dollar contracts.

The two are great friends, both having ties to the metro area Parise born in Minneapolis and Suter living near Madison Wisconsin and his wife from Bloomington. Their friendship and the geographic ties definitely played a role in making these signings a reality.

This is the sort of thing that just doesn’t happen in Minnesota Sports, Parise and Suter were each drawn away from the only franchises either had ever known to come and play for one of my teams.

There was brilliant maneuvering by Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher over the last few seasons to get the teams salary cap to a point where this was a possibility, but as Michael Russo, Wild beat writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune writes here nothing was a certainty until signatures were in hand, two signatures which have shaped the future of the Minnesota Wild franchise for years to come…..

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter will be paired with Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley among others including a great crop of upcoming prospects who under Coach Mike Yeo will attempt to bring the Stanley Cup Home to the State of Hockey.